


Thursday

by Bryonia_Alba



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 23:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10774905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bryonia_Alba/pseuds/Bryonia_Alba
Summary: Comfort is taken wherever and from whomever it's offered.





	Thursday

**Author's Note:**

> Teenyfic using the prompt comfort. Written in 2007.

“You have a visitor,” the guard said, standing outside of Lucius’s cell while fishing for the keys.

Lucius looked up from the book in his hand. The visit wasn’t unexpected, along with the guard’s gruff tone and the length of time he took looking for the right key. He never deigned to reply. The guards were all boors; he was surprised any of them knew enough English to communicate with the prisoners.

The idiot finally located the key and unlocked the door, opening it enough to allow a young woman into the cell. Once upon a time, the mere sight of her would have made his lip curl in derision. It was a sign of how much things had changed and how far he’d fallen that he could feel so much pleasure at her presence now.

“Miss Granger.” He inclined his head in greeting, but didn’t rise. He waved one hand, indicating she sit in the chair. It was the only chair in the cell, but proper manners had to be observed.

“Mr Malfoy.” She sat down, nodding toward the book he held. “Are you enjoying the book?”

“I finished it just before your timely arrival,” he replied. “Sydney Carton was a fool.”

“Oh? Why did you think so?” She tipped her head to one side, genuinely curious. “Do you think he sacrificed himself for love, honour, or both?”

“Oh, both,” Lucius responded. “His reasoning, however, left much to be desired.”

Granger smiled, and Lucius returned it as they began debating the finer plot points of _A Tale of Two Cities_ , revelling in the opportunity to indulge in intellectual discourse with another erudite, agile mind. That the mind belonged to a Mudblood was a pity; but in Azkaban, one took what one could find. 

“I don’t suppose you brought another one of your Muggle _classics_ with which to torment me, Miss Granger,” he said dryly some time later, handing the book back to her.

She gave him a smile of amusement even as she reached for her satchel. “I can always stop bringing books if you dislike them so much, or perhaps I should bring you a badly written bodice-ripper so you’ll better appreciate the difference between good literature and dreck.” She pulled out a thick tome. “It’s another book by Dickens, called _Great Expectations_. I think you’ll find this one more to your tastes.”

“I’ll have to accept your word for it, won’t I?” Lucius accepted the new novel, paging through it idly. Good God, he thought, who would name their protagonist _Pip_?

“No foolish self-sacrificing,” Miss Granger assured him, repressing yet another smile. He wondered how she could manage such an action in such a dreadful place; but he welcomed them anyway. The smiles, like so much else, were luxuries to be savoured.

Two hours passed, the time flying much too quickly. Miss Granger rose, tucking her satchel beneath one arm as the guard banged on the cell door.

“Next Thursday, then?” Lucius asked, coolly. Let the guard believe what he would.

“Next Thursday,” she agreed. “Did you want me to bring anything besides the books? A chess set, perhaps? Some parchment and ink so you can write to…your friends?” A tiny frown wrinkled her brow at the last question as she realised most of his friends, those who were alive anyway, were already here, in separate cells.

He decided to be gracious. “If you wish, I would be most pleased.” He didn’t thank her. There were limits to how far he was willing to lower himself. He opened up the copy of _Great Expectations_ had given him and began reading, whiling away the hours and days before next Thursday and the small comforts Miss Granger’s visits brought.


End file.
